The sky cracked like a shattered mirror. Jagged fissures split the atmosphere, bleeding unnatural light as portals tore open across the heavens. They didn't just open. They pulsed, creating a violent, unnatural suction that dragged everything nearby into the void. Birds, dogs, cats, insects, humans, and even commercial planes were ripped from their paths, swallowed whole by the widening maws. Engines whined, wings snapped, and screams were swallowed before they could echo.
It had started a month ago. A single, silent tear over the frozen wastes of Antarctica. By the time governments scrambled satellites or issued emergency statements, it was already too late. The rifts multiplied. They spread like a plague, blooming over every major city, every remote village, every inch of the globe. No warning. No countdown.
In Beijing, a boy pedaled his bicycle home, sweat stinging his eyes. "Why are there so many rumours about portals or somt—" He never finished. The asphalt beneath his tires vanished. The air howled. "Wh… why am I getting sucked into this hole? Hel… help me!" His voice was cut short as the sky swallowed him whole.
In India, a boy collapsed onto his mattress, dead to the world after three sleepless nights. He didn't even stir as the ceiling dissolved and the vacuum pulled him into the dark.
In London, a man and his girlfriend shared a quiet lunch at a sidewalk café. "Do you know those rumours are true?" the woman asked, curiosity lacing her voice.
"Those are clearly fake. You can't believe everything on the internet nowadays," the man replied, waving a fork dismissively. He was still chewing when the table vanished, and then his hands, and then his face.
In Kazan, Russia, a blond-haired girl with sharp blue eyes bent over her textbooks. "What was that…? Why do I feel like I'm on a balcony?" She turned her head just as the floor gave way. The portal claimed her before her breath could fog the air.
Across the sun-baked streets of Lagos, a man moved through heavy bags in a makeshift outdoor gym. Sweat plastered his dark skin to his muscles as he threw combinations. Jab. Cross. Hook. His rhythm was perfect. Then the sky tore open above the ring. He ducked on instinct, but gravity betrayed him.
His boots left the ground. He swung at the air, fighting the pull, but the vacuum was absolute. "No—!" The portal swallowed his final curse.
No one was safe. Nations collapsed into chaos within hours. Order shattered, Panic reigned over the world .There were reports of people torn in half. Only a torso or a single arm vanishing, leaving behind bleeding, screaming survivors on blood-soaked streets. The world didn't end with a bang. It ended with a vacuum.
Then, a voice echoed from the heavens. It was Cold,Mechanical and Devoid of any emotions.
[HUMANITY HAS BEEN SELECTED FOR THE TRIAL OF SURVIVAL]
[ALL REMAINING HUMAN POPULATIONS WILL BE TELEPORTED TO THE CONTINENT OF ORIN]
[THE STRONG SHALL THRIVE. THE WEAK SHALL PERISH]
Ansh woke to the smell of damp earth and crushed leaves. He gasped, sitting up sharply. "Huh… Where am I?" He pushed himself off the mossy ground, his bare feets sinking into thick underbrush. Towering trees with bark like iron ringed the clearing, their canopies so dense they choked out the sun.
He ran a hand through his hair. Black, streaked with premature white. He touched the old scar on his left cheek. He stood at 5'11 inch , broad-chested but carrying a soft layer around his stomach and thighs. Definitely not a soldier and Definitely not a hero.
"I… I remember I fell asleep in my hou—"
[AS HUMANS FROM EARTH ARE THE LATEST TO ARRIVE, ALL SURVIVORS SHALL BE GRANTED ONE OPPORTUNITY TO AWAKEN A TALENT]
[NOT ALL WILL SUCCEED]
[IN THIS REALM, YOUR WORTH IS NOT MEASURED BY BIRTH… NOR BY TALENT ALONE]
[IT IS MEASURED BY WHAT YOU CAN COMMAND]
[YOU ARE GRANTED ONE RANDOM TROOP ALLOCATION. EVERY LORD RECEIVES A HEART STONE]
The words hung in the air, glowing faintly before fading. Ansh looked down. Nestled in the ferns was a crystal, shaped like a human heart. It pulsed with a faint, cold light. He picked it up. It was weightless, yet icy against his palm. A translucent blue interface materialized before his eyes.
[ITEM: LORD HEART STONE]
[TIER: 1]
[FUNCTION: DEPLOY TO ESTABLISH INITIAL BUNKER & TERRITORIAL HALL]
[WARNING: LOCATION IS PERMANENT UPON ACTIVATION]
"Right I got it ," Ansh muttered. He knelt and pressed the stone into the soil. For a long moment, nothing happened. "Is this thing broken or—"
A blinding surge of white light erupted from the ground. A energy shield snapped into place, sealing off a twenty-meter radius. The earth trembled. Timber, stone, and thatch materialized from thin air, weaving together with impossible speed until a sturdy wooden bunker and a modest territorial hall stood where empty jungle had been.
Ansh approached cautiously and pushed the heavy door open. Inside, the air was thick with dust and the smell of fresh pine. "Why is it so damn dusty?" he coughed, waving his hand in front of his face. The interior was dim, illuminated only by a single glowing gem resting on a stone pedestal at the far wall. He stepped toward it and placed his fingers on the smooth surface.
[DO YOU WISH TO CLAIM YOUR STARTING TROOP?]
[YES / NO]
"Yes."
"And can I even choose it?"
[ALLOCATION INITIATED. RANDOM SELECTION IN PROGRESS…]
The ground shuddered. A dry, rattling sound echoed from the corner of the room. Dirt displaced as a bony hand breached the floorboards. A weak-looking skeleton dragged itself out, clutching a crude wooden pickaxe. Its skull tilted, empty sockets staring up at him.
"Where the hell is this thing coming from? And why does it have a wooden pickaxe?" Ansh backed up, heart pounding. "Can that thing even protect me?"
A new panel flickered beside the creature.
[UNIT: SKELETON LABOURER]
[RANK: TIER 0 (LOW)]
[SKILL: NO PAIN, NO GAIN]
[REMARK: BETTER LET THIS OLD MAN RETIRE]
[COMBAT VIABILITY: NEGLIGIBLE]
Ansh stared. "What in the actual hell? How am I supposed to survive with a useless skeleton? This must be a joke." He rubbed his temples, frustration boiling over. Before he could curse the system again, a sharp chime rang in his skull.
[RANDOM TALENT ASSIGNMENT COMPLETE]
[TALENT: CHOSEN BY THE ABYSS]
[RANK: ??? (UNCLASSIFIABLE)]
[EFFECT: [REDACTED]… ERROR. PARAMETER CORRUPTION. ANALYSIS FAILED]
[WARNING: ABYSSAL SIGNATURE DETECTED
[PROCEED WITH CAUTION]
The text glitched, letters fracturing and reforming before stabilizing. Ansh didn't understand what it meant. But as the dust settled in the dim bunker, and the skeleton laborer stood idle with its wooden tool, a strange, heavy pressure settled in his chest. The trial had begun. And he had no idea what he'd just been given.
Ansh felt the weight of someone's gaze.